STRONG SOLAR FLARE ACTIVITY: New sunspot AR3311 is crackling with strong M-class solar flares. There have been three eruptions so far today and one almost reached category X. Each flare has caused a shortwave radio blackout with significant loss of signal below 20 MHz. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
SURPRISE GEOMAGNETIC STORM: Surprising forecasters, a crack opened in Earth's magnetic field on May 19th. Solar wind poured through the gap, sparking a G2-class geomagnetic storm. Naked-eye auroras were visible across many northern-tier US states while photographic auroras descended as far south as Missouri (latitude +40.2N):
"The night started off with a surprise passage of Starlink satellites whose 21 or so members flared to incredibly bright for a few seconds," says photographer Dan Bush of Albany Missouri. "Then the red auroras came and were visible to my camera for about an hour or so."
This event was probably caused by a near-miss CME--one of many that left the sun last week on trajectories slightly off the sun-Earth line. South-pointing magnetic fields in the CME's wake washed over Earth. Those south-pointing fields partially cancelled Earth's north-pointing magnetic field, lowering our defenses against the solar wind.
Did you miss the storm? Subscribers to our Space Weather Alert Service received instant text messages when the storm began, giving them time to dash out and catch the auroras. PRO subscribers also received early-warning "BsubZ alerts," which told them that a crack was opening in Earth's magnetic field.
more images:; from Thomas Spence of Schroeder, Minnesota; from Dirk S. Miller of Rice Lake, Wisconsin; from Thomas Childress of Rugby, North Dakota; from Laura Kranich of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany; from Elon Gane of Cavour, South Dakota
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SUPERNOVA IN THE PINWHEEL GALAXY: Astronomers are scrambling to photograph a new supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy. "This is best supernova in a decade," says Eliot Herman of Tucson, Arizona. "I am pleased I caught it on the rise less than a day after its discovery." The red arrow marks the brightening explosion:
This is a Type II supernova, caused by the core collapse of a massive star. If it behaves like other supernovas of the same type, it should continue to brighten for a few days at least. "It is at magnitude +14.4 at the moment," says Herman. "I am betting it gets below +13, hoping for +12."
These numbers make it an easy target for backyard telescopes. Discovered on May 19th by amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki, the supernova is located in the constellation Ursa Major, right here. Take a look!
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"ALWAYS AND FOREVER" SPACE PENDANT: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider the Always and Forever Space Pendent. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $199.95. Engraved with the words "I love you always and forever", this 18K gold-plated pendant has a heart-shaped citrine crystal in the middle surrounded by a ring of glittering cubic zirconia nuggets.
The students are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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